The rapid growth of technology companies and technology resources in general, has motivated the structuring of best practices to guide the management of technology services. The design of best practices is fundamental to guarantee quality, economy and productivity in companies.

In this post, we will provide information about the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), characterized as a library of best practices to improve the delivery of IT services. ITILhas great worldwide penetration and stands out for the ability to adapt to different business realities, regardless of segment or size.

Continue reading this post and get to know more about history and basic principles of ITIL.

How ITIL came about

ITILoriginated from a government initiative. In the 1980s, the British government intensified its computerization program, leading to decentralization of the IT sector, converting many of its entities into global organizations. With this came the need to organize document consolidating best practices to assist in the process of change. Initially, the focus was aimed at British government agencies; however, ITILwas soon incorporated into the private sector, becoming a benchmark in many technology companies. The set of guidelines proposed by ITILcontinues to be a reference in organizations, even with the emergence of new methodologies for technology management, in a corporate environment.

Prior to the formalization of best practices, public agencies and companies adopted their own methodologies for the management of technology services. The lack of standard in the development of activities resulted in increased costs and the creation of unnecessary complexity for the consolidation of the IT sector in organizations.

ITIL timeline (milestones)

1986:CCTA (UK Government Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency) authorized the development of a common set of guidelines with the aim of increasing the efficiency of British government IT services.

2000and 2001:Publication of ITIL V2 (Service Support/Service Delivery) and formalization of BS 15000:2000 standard, Specifications for IT service management, together with the code of best practices DISC PD 0005.

2007:Launch of ITIL V3, providing vision of the complete service life cycle, broadening the IT and support components needed to provide the services.

2011 Update:The version counts on five books addressing items like Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement. ITIL2011 is an update of the model (framework) that addresses significant additional guidance with the definition of formal processes that were previously implicated, but not identified, as well as the correction of errors and inconsistencies.

Key objectives of ITIL

Influencing business results;

Assist in the process of business change;

Online risk management, according to the needs of the business;

Optimize the consumer experience;

Show value;

Enable continuous improvement;

Benefits of ITIL

Business risk management for services;

Minimize interruption of services;

Quantify and clearly demonstrate the value of the services provided;

Provide referral services and maximize return on investment;

Increase the profitability of the services provided;

Support the commercialization and consumption of services;

Guarantee the quality of services, according to the needs and expectations of the client;

Ensure that clients can use services as and when they wish;

Ensure that business and customers are not affected by service failure;

Predict, respond and influence the demand for its services, aiming to make it profitable

Support for business changes, ensuring stability and low risk;

Build and maintain healthy business relationships to enhance customer satisfaction.

Although ITILwas designed in the 1980s, it has been able to adapt adequately to changes in the technology market. Its evolutions came in response to demands generated by companies of the most varied segments and sizes, which helped ITILto remain at the forefront when it comes to IT service management.

New challenges will emerge in the coming years and it will be up to the ITILmaintainers to continue the work of improving the practices. In this way, the standard will continue to occupy a privileged position among alternatives to improve the management of information technology services.